Just when you thought you wouldn’t get another opportunity to have your say on the third runway at Heathrow, another chance comes along. Well, we say ‘consultation’ but this one is being run by Heathrow so you’ll need to aim off a bit for that. In this instance you’re being invited to “help shape Heathrow’s proposals for property and noise compensation”. Do what? Well, it’s all about what happens when the third runway gets approved. Oops! Did we say ‘when’? We meant ‘if’ of course. As we know, nothing will be decided until after the 2015 election.

According the the blurb, Heathrow’s plans for a third runway must “balance the wider benefits of having a successful hub airport with the effects on our local communities”. So this consultation is not about a yes / no opinion but about how Heathrow might best compensate those who would be most affected.

The consultation runs from 21st July to 12th October. There’s a website where you can give your views and there will also be a series of events across September and October including in Richmond (8th Oct) and Twickenham (9th Oct).

5 responses to “Heathrow Consultation… Again”

It’s odd that this thread seems to attract far less comments than the Gloriana one. I’d have thought that another runway will have far greater effect on more people’s lives than a large boathouse on the river.

The comments here are also better considered and more relevant than the fatuous and politically-motivated ones submitted by the conspiracy theorists over there.

This is clearly part of their cunning plan. They’ll probably argue that everyone submitting a response is in favour of Heathrow expansion.

Having gone through the survey but not submitting it – it is obvious that without knowing a lot about technical aspects on aircraft noise the average person can’t properly answer some of the questions.

Another aspect is that it gives the impression that everyone living under the flight paths will get a cash windfall. I expect when one goes into the detail that few will actually gain.

And I suspect that some of the answers an individual might give would depend on their personal position in relation to the flight paths of any expanded airport. Currently Heathrow is also boxing clever on this by submitting three sets of flight paths to the Airports Commission (“ilndicative, subject to consultation”) and saying it is up to the government to choose. Thus if the government want to minimise the total number of people affected, they can use one option. A second minimises the number of new people affected ; a third maximises the opportunities for respite…..

Reblogged this on Action Against Apathy and commented:
Heathrow seems to think this is a done deal…. let’s all do what we can to stop it becoming a reality. So do the survey, attend the events and try to halt the juggernaut. One of the questions to consider is, will a 3rd runway at Heathrow help the 1/3rd of all households in Glasgow without jobs? A fact that came from the Commonewealth Games. No it will benefit London and the SouthEast, and continue the national imbalance. It would be far better to invest in the whole of the UK to create jobs all over the nation, not just in Heathrow, where the main beneficiary would be the surrounding area, corporations and overseas trade. It’s time to refocus our priorities.

While on the subject, it might be worth mentioning that Heathrow started a six month trial of new easterly departure procedures last Monday. (Monday was on easterlies , so they used them – they have been normal westerlies since).

The routes use new technology to make planes fly a more accurate course so the planes will be concentrated down a narrow route rather than being dispersed over a wider area. There may also be differences in the rate at which planes climb, which could also have noise implications.

If things appear differently on easterlies, you know why……

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